


darkness looms

by kaedenrocket



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Banishment, Crying, Episode: s01e04 Murphy's Law, Hanging, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, grounder!bellamy, murphys banishment, will tag along the way
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:21:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27087025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaedenrocket/pseuds/kaedenrocket
Summary: Murphy is banished and has no clue where to go. Luckily, a mysterious Grounder gladly takes him in.Grounder!Bellamy au
Relationships: Bellamy Blake & Octavia Blake, Bellamy Blake/John Murphy, Clarke Griffin & John Murphy
Comments: 12
Kudos: 65





	1. trembling visions

**Author's Note:**

> hello! first of all, thank you for reading :) i had this idea roaming around my head for a few months now and I just needed to get it out of my system. i suck at writing big pieces aka more than 600 words, but i tried very hard to make it a bit longer and interesting :) also english isn’t my first language, so i apologize for any mistakes :(. this is a grounder!bellamy fic, but he isn’t in this chapter yet. enjoy reading <3

A dense fog covered the surface, making the lights of the torches die quickly in the distance. The biting cold stung, but not as bad as the ache in his heart. Clarke falsely accused him, and he really tried to prove his innocence. Not that his so called ‘friends’ would back him up or anything. And now they banished him. The words were unspoken, but even he knew that this was a ‘nice way’ to sentence him to death. It had been hard for hundred united kids to survive, imagine being alone. Murphy didn’t even knew about half of the threats out here on this forsaken radiated planet. Maybe not forsaken after all, he thought back to Jasper being speared by mysterious strangers who somehow survived the bombs. It definitely did not make him feel better.

Murphy’s head throbbed and stomach rumbled, reminding him that he should find food and shelter for the night soon. The last time he ate was before the hanging and even that was scarcely enough to feed him. Murphy knew that it definitely wouldn’t be easy finding food, especially now that he didn’t have anything but the shitty self made knife Finn gave him out of pity he probably didn’t deserve. And there was no way he could hunt in the state he was in right now; tired and injured. 

A shrieking sound coming from the bushes urged Murphy that he couldn’t stay out in the open much longer, any animal (or human he supposed) could find him and kill him with ease. Murphy couldn’t see much through the thick mist, but he had to take it for granted that nothing but wind made the leaves rustle. 

Trying to stand hurt, but Murphy should really find cover now. He tried not to think to much about how he could be warm in his tent now, covered by blankets and a bit less hungry. But no, a goddamn 12 year old really ruined all hope for him. He hated children, Murphy decided then. He was disappointed in Clarke for not believing him when he pleaded, begged for her not to kick that tree stump from under his feet. She didn’t in the end, some stupid bystanders did, but its not like she stopped them. She had stood there and watched him flail and thrash without doing shit. Finn was the one to cut him down in the end, when that little murderer confessed. Murphy could almost feel the wave of relief, but also pure anger crash down on him again. Oh, he was angry; he had screamed and pushed for justice, and look where it got him. Murphy was still angry, but now it was more of a calm anger. Angry at himself.

Murphy limped across the clearing connected to the cliff and made his way into the dusky forest. He could hear birds chirping and screeching. Well, probably some crazy radiated mutated birds. Definitely not something he could catch, or willingly eat. The sound hurt in his ears, and he silently asked them to shut up so they wouldn’t break his goddamn ear drums with their screams. Maybe he was getting a little bit cranky. 

He had been walking for only a few minutes when he tumbled over a root sticking out of the ground, sneakily covered in moss. Ouch. Murphy could catch himself on his hands, but the fall still hurt nonetheless. His palms were scraped by twigs and sharp pebbles, a little bit of blood trickling out of the small scratches.

Murphy sat on his hands and knees for what felt like an eternity, simply staring at the ground and trying to catch his breath. He couldn’t see shit and walking around aimlessly got him irritated very quickly. Everything about his situation sucked, and Murphy would rather just give up right now. There was a small chance he would make it through the night, having no food and nowhere to go. He was banished from the only place that gave him a prospect of survival. Before he knew it, Murphy’s cheek was damp from a single tear rolling down his face. Soon it began pricking in his eyes and more tears followed. He hadn’t allowed himself to cry in years, but Murphy just couldn’t stop himself at the moment. 

The tears came and came, he was full on sobbing now. It was weird; Murphy didn’t feel sad perse, just very hopeless. Hopeless enough to cry his eyes out, he felt pathetic, sick even. Everything hurt as the sobs shook him. Gasping for enough air to flow through his lungs, Murphy sat down and protectively threw his arms around his knees, rolling himself into a ball.

He cried and sobbed until he physically couldn’t anymore, his eyes probably running short on liquid. The piercing cold made his tears dry quickly, and they stained his cheeks. His mouth was dry and stomach empty. It was time to get his act together and go on with life. Murphy hesitantly unfolded himself from his human roll and stretched his legs out in front of him. They ached from walking for so long and protested with dull stings.

Murphy raised his head and looked at a vague light he presumed was the moon, not being able to make out much due to branches in the way and fog. He always admired the moon as a child. Since Murphy came down to earth, the moon had been nothing but a light source when it was night. Unless there was mist, of course, then it was just useless ball hanging in the sky not providing anything. 

When Murphy finally mustered up enough strength, he stood up. Immediately reaching for a branch, as his legs almost caved in again. When he was steady, Murphy took a deep breath and started his search for a shelter that could keep him safe for the night once more. It was still icy cold, but he could feel himself warming up while trekking. 

After having walked through the woods for about an hour now, the area started getting a bit more dense, the trees and thick bushes having less distance in between each other. It was harder to locate where exactly Murphy was going and he almost ran into a tree every turn. 

An action in the bushes nearby caught his attention, Murphy’s head snapping towards it. He still couldn’t see shit, particularly when the thicket was so plump. Murphy tried his best to slowly and soundlessly approach it. He jumped back when something, or more someone, sprung out of the bush. Murphy had no time to say or do anything before it hit his head with what he presumed was a bat of some sort. He crumpled helplessly to the ground and his vision blacked out.


	2. agony and despair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Murphy escaped the grounder prison camp and is a complete wreck, what’s new?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello and welcome back again!! pfew that took long huh? i apologize, i was busy doing absolutely nothing and handling a writer’s block but woo i’m back with the second chapter !! i hope you enjoy reading <3  
> !TW! : torture and hanging !! all is in the past, but it’s still mentioned and a bit detailed so please read with caution !!

Well, that wasn’t planned. After he was knocked out, Murphy found himself captured in a sort of wooden cage. Definitely not a situation he had hoped to be in. What did he expect, walking around in the dark forest like that, an easy target?

But he was free now. After three days full of torture, pain and hopelessness, they had let him go. Murphy didn’t know the reason why, he just assumed the grounders forgot to lock his cage after their ‘session’. Yet, Murphy didn’t question it and quickly took off. Being alone out here again was better than there. Anything was better than there, now that he thought about it. 

Murphy never imagined how he could physically and mentally hurt so much in just a span of 4 days, but here he was; beaten, hanged, knocked out, beaten again, tortured for information and so much more. It was draining to a point where everything ached with longing of just being peacefully asleep. Maybe to a safe place where he didn’t have to fear for his life. Maybe on the Ark, before his father died and his mother turned her back on him. 

The grounders were ruthless; they had stuck him in a small cage made out of pointy and sharp wood that would jag his skin. Little scratches covered his body from just moving in there. Well, those little scratches were nothing compared to the rest. They would burn, stab, cut, slap, punch, drown, choke and starve him, demanding for information about the delinquents. Murphy couldn’t understand a word of their weird language, but sometimes a grounder could speak in choppy English. He had screamed his lungs raw, but had not said a word about the 100. Murphy couldn’t care less about what happened to them, but his last ounce of self dignity and pride kept him from saying anything.

But in the end he did tell them, everything. In the beginning he could take a punch (he had gotten plenty of those on the Ark and at the dropship), but on the third day Murphy was so damn tired. Even the smallest pinch hurt and could make him wince and flinch. He was worn out and couldn’t resist anymore. Murphy had answered all their questions and interrogations. The next time he passed out, he woke up to an open cage and no grounder in sight.

Now again, Murphy had nowhere to go. He was scared of being captured again, he had to get far away from the grounders prison camp. Going back to the dropship was no option; Murphy was sure he wouldn’t get a warm welcome after he told all their secrets to the enemy, even when he was as pathetic and harmless as this. 

Just like last time being in this forest, it was freezing. Murphy had even less to protect him from he cold, his clothes being thorn and ripped everywhere. His shirt barely holding up, only clinging to his body because of all the dried blood it stuck to. The cold stung his wounds and made his eyes teary. At least in the grounder camp he got to ‘enjoy’ a fire sometimes. 

Murphy couldn’t feel his toes anymore. The grounders had taken his shoes and now he had to walk around a freezing forest bare feet, not a great plan. He could feel sharp little stones planting themselves in his soles. And damn his feet were freezing. 

A particularly chilly and strong breeze almost knocked Murphy over, he had gotten weak. Murphy quickly grabbed a thick low hanging branch from the nearest tree to steady himself. The bark felt rough underneath his aching hand, but it didn’t feel wrong. Murphy stayed still for a few seconds until he was stable and balanced enough to stand on his own again, not needing to rely on the tree anymore.

Murphy couldn’t see the moon and it’s stance, but he guessed it was early morning. The sun hadn’t set yet but he could see little specks of orange at the horizon through the trees. He was grateful for the day to return, so he could finally see where he was walking and possibly even hunt. The grounders had fed him once a day, but it was old, dry and disgusting meat. Murphy was starving and desperate for real food and a drink. And maybe a bath. He reeked and his whole body was foul from blood and dirt. 

Murphy looked around for any sight of water. He could remember Clarke and Octavia mentioning a river a few days ago when they came back from their search for Mount Weather. He tried hard to recall which way they went, but it was hard to navigate in the dark. And even if he could see his surroundings clearer, Murphy was probably far from the dropship. 

He could hear birds chirping and singing their morning songs. A small black bird landed on a branch above him. Murphy looked up at the animal, wishing he could catch it. Instead, the bird hastily flew away again when it saw him. The sudden thought that the bird maybe was on its way to a river shook Murphy awake from his thoughts. 

‘’Wait,’’ He whispered, hoping not to scare the bird away. Of course it did, so Murphy briskly started following the low flying fowl. Sudden energy surged through his whole body, speeding up his legs as they quickly took steps and tried to avoid sharply sticking out branches. 

Soon, Murphy got out of breath and had to pause for a moment. However, the bird didn’t stop and chirpily flew out of his sight. Murphy cursed under his breath, but he hoped he was at least a bit closer to a river and maybe his next meal. 

The small orange specks had turned into a big stripe of orange, pink and yellow at the horizon. It was a beautiful view and Murphy stood still for a moment to enjoy and appreciate it. He could finally see his surroundings a bit better and immediately noticed the forest was a bit more open and low here, more big bushes covering the surface than trees. 

Murphy’s lungs ached from running and he was tired, so tired. Now that the sun had finally set, he guessed he could sleep a bit more peaceful now. His stomach rumbled and his throat was dry, but Murphy couldn’t look for food or water without getting sleep first anymore. He tentatively took a step towards a big bush, that seemed to have enough space in it to comfortably rest in. Murphy expected an animal (or even a grounder) to jump out of the thicket any moment, but that never came. 

Murphy was right, the bush was a bit hollow from the inside so he could stand in there. The floor didn’t seem very pleasant to lay on, with its twigs covering the surface, but it had to do. Murphy plucked some moss and leaves from the base of the bush and placed them so it would be a bit more comfortable.

When he was done, Murphy finally laid down. This might have been the most comfortable he had been since his banishment, far better than the grounders at least. With a small sigh, he closed his eyes and curled his knees up to his chest. Soon all his thoughts began blurring together and a cozy darkness overtook him completely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi again! i hope i made it clear, but if you’re confused about that happened; i skipped the 3 days of torture because i’m a bit uncomfortable writing that! so this started where he just escaped, i hope you got that :). nonetheless, i hope you had fun reading the second chapter of this fic !! i have about 5 chapters planned, but it could be longer or shorter. byee, see you in a bit hopefully :) (my twitter is @mcksonprince come and talk to me i love that !!)


	3. strange occurrences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Murphy wakes up in a strange place. A puzzling man claims to have saved him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello !! thank you for reading the third chapter of this fic :D i’m excited about this one hehe and i hope you’ll like it too !! and this is actually longer than 1k i’m proud of myself :D

A soft and cozy feeling slowly travels through Murphy’s body as he wakes up. Something fuzzy covered him, and it seemed to affect him as a whole. It was a nice, tender feeling. Murphy didn’t want to move, he’d rather have this moment swallow him forever. 

Slowly, Murphy’s common sense and mind began to come around too. Puzzle pieces fell together and he realized that this was not where he fell asleep, definitely not; it was way too nice and cozy for the uncomfortable bush he remembered dozing off in. His head filled with panicking thoughts, was he taken by the grounders again? Why would they let him go, just to capture him again? No, that couldn’t be possible, the grounders would never make it comfortable for him. 

Maybe, this was all a dream. Maybe he never escaped from the grounders. Or maybe he was never banished. Or sent to Earth. Maybe, he would wake up soon in his room, with his family. Murphy hoped this was all a dream. More like a nightmare.

Nonetheless, Murphy knew it wasn’t, because good things don’t happen to him. He stirred a bit, letting his hand wander around the surface. His fingertips grazed silky material and Murphy quickly found out he was laying under a fuzzy cover, probably some sort of animal fur. Now that he shifted his arm too, he felt the same cozy cover under him and besides him, covering him from all sides, so his whole body warmed up. The person who laid him here definitely did it with care. Even though Murphy still had no idea where he was, why or how, it was a nice feeling, like someone cared. 

After a few seconds of just enjoying and savoring the warm moment, Murphy begrudgingly opened his eyes. He stirred a bit as his eyes got used to the light that was dimly lighting the – cave? The walls seemed to be made of dull stones, some spots decorated by grim moss and long vines. When Murphy focused enough, he could hear the soft crackling of a nearby fire, that was probably also the source of light and warmth in this mysterious place. The toasty scent of burning meat made way into Murphy’s nose and his stomach rumbled. 

He still had no clue where he was and the nice feeling in his chest did not help at all. Murphy turned his head a bit to get a better look at the place. He let out a soft wince; Ow, his neck hurt. Now he could see one side of the cave clearly, including a strange looking person crouched over a little fire. Murphy immediately started panicking again, please don’t let it be another grounder. 

Murphy tried to stay as still as possible, scared for this grounder person. He didn’t dare to breathe.

Murphy wondered if this was the person who got him here and put him in this sort of bed, if you could even call it that. Now he noticed that some of his wounds had been taken care of, they didn’t sting as much anymore, but subsided in just a dull ache.

After a few painful half-laying-half-sitting seconds, Murphy quietly tried to shift to a bit more comfortable position that didn’t put much pressure on his sore back. He let out a hiss through gritted teeth as the new stance did not help his aching body at all.

‘’Ah, you’re finally awake,’’ Murphy froze at the words coming from the corner of the cave. His eyes widened a bit and he didn’t dare turning around to face the person who spoke to him.

Unlike the grounders who held Murphy captive just a night before, this person -maybe a grounder too- seemed to speak perfectly fine English without an accent. That was definitely a step up from the harsh grounder-language he had grown to detest, Murphy thought.

The sound of movement caught Murphy’s attention and someone entered his visual field from this position. 

A tall seeming person with curly brown hair crouched just a few feet away from him. He carefully held out his hand to reveal a small flask. Murphy looked at the person in front of him to the canteen. 

The confusion probably showed in his eyes; ‘’Here, drink.’’ 

Murphy did not know if this was a trick or not, but his dry throat urged him to trust the water. Or what he hoped was water.

He slowly lifted his hands to take the flask that was held out for him. His bloodied and aching arms protested but Murphy managed to carefully grab the bottle. 

The lid had already been taken off and Murphy stared at the content inside of the flask. He took his chances and drank a small sip. Just water. Aside from the metal taste that the blood in his mouth left, it seemed normal water.

Murphy coughed when his still dry throat demanded more with a scratchy ache. Knowing that it was safe, he took a big swig and gulped it down in seconds. The water felt nice and refreshing contrasting to his past few dehydrated days.

Once he was done with the whole bottle, the person took it from Murphy and put it in a what seemed like a bag made out of hide and returned to him. He had a mysterious look on his face that didn’t give anything away of what he was thinking, which did not help Murphy’s suspicion about the whole situation at all. For a moment they just stared at each other, but finally the man spoke.

‘’I’m Bellamy,’’ he told Murphy. He didn’t know what to do with that information, should he tell this person his name? Or, well, Bellamy, he supposed. 

‘’Murphy,’’ he replied as a short answer to Bellamy’s silent question. Bellamy gave him a short nod with a small, uncertain smile and stood up.

Murphy watched him walk across the cave to the fire with narrowed eyes, not sure what the mysterious man was going to do. 

Bellamy returned to him after a few moments, holding a wooden plate with what seemed like cooked meat on it. Food. Murphy’s stomach was rumbling by the smell alone. He hoped that the good looking food was for him, pushing the thought that it was poisoned to the back of his head. If Bellamy had wanted to kill him, he could have done it already in an easier way. And besides, the water tasted fine, so why would he poison him with something else? 

Just as Murphy had hoped, Bellamy offered him the dish and set it down next to him. Murphy hungrily stared at it, tempting to immediately take a piece. 

‘’It’s cooked panther meat, you can eat it,’’ Murphy had eaten panther meat once before, at the dropship camp. He didn’t particularly liked the strong taste of the meat, but it was better than nothing. And especially now that he was basically starving, it seemed like a gift from the gods. 

Murphy tried to sit up a bit more so it would be easier to eat. He bit his lip so no sound of his discomfort and pain would come out. If Bellamy noticed, he didn’t say anything.

Murphy reached out to the plate sitting next to him. His fingers clasped around a small piece of the steak that was cut off. It was scorching hot, but the warmth felt nice against Murphy’s cold fingers.

He quickly put it in his mouth and tried to ignore the heat that was spreading fast over his tongue. After days of starvation, just eating this chunk of meat was the damn best feeling in the world, Murphy thought. Having something in his stomach again (that was not a knife) was amazing and Murphy instantly craved more. 

He tried to take more and bigger portions, but got stopped by Bellamy; ‘’Don’t eat so much, your body isn’t used to it yet.’’ Which Murphy could understand, but damn was he hungry. 

Murphy slowly nodded and took a smaller piece of panther steak to eat instead. 

It didn’t take Murphy long to finish the food and he felt better at once. With a full stomach, waterlogged and a warm place to sit for now, he was fine. Maybe not completely fine, but partly. 

The grounder-person didn’t scare him as much anymore and Murphy was about 80 percent sure he wasn’t about to be killed -or worse-. 

‘’I cleaned some of your worst wounds, but I’d like to continue with the rest now,’’ Suddenly Bellamy was speaking to him, ‘’Is that okay?’’ Murphy did not know what to answer, because well, no, it was not okay. He preferred no one touching him, nor his wounds. 

So Murphy said nothing and merely gawked at Bellamy with an uncertain look in his eyes. 

Bellamy simply nodded and turned his back to Murphy to move to his bag. Just as Murphy thought Bellamy understood the denial, he came back with several things that looked like bandages, cloths and a little jar. For some reason, Bellamy took his silence as a confirmation. Or he just didn’t care.

\---

Bellamy crouched down in front of Murphy again. He looked at him for a moment, before his eyes went down to Murphy’s ragged shirt. It was blood stained and full of rips, that made it look like there were more holes than fabric. 

He didn’t precisely know where to start, since everything was a mess and desperately needed medical attention. After a few indecisive moments, Bellamy choose to start with a long gash in Murphy’s abdomen that reached to his side. 

Bellamy examined the wound and to his surprise it seemed that it wasn’t too deep. Still deep enough so that Bellamy would have to stitch it up, but not life threatening. Actually, it wouldn’t be that dangerous if it was just this wound, but instead Murphy’s whole body was covered in blood of injury’s. 

He took a wetted rag and carefully tried to clean the blood away around the cut. Bellamy stopped for a second when Murphy hissed in pain. He continued with more care but Murphy kept shifting under his touch.

‘’Sit still,’’ Bellamy ordered with a grunt.

‘’You’re hurting me, jackass,’’ Murphy hissed back in response.

‘’I am trying to help you,’’ Bellamy continued ,’’But you have to sit still.’’

Murphy muttered something under his breath, but complied and tried to sit as motionless as possible. 

It didn’t take Bellamy too long to clean his wound. It was looking better already, not covered in blood and dirt. He didn’t know how long Murphy had been walking around with it, but he was pretty sure it would get infected, if it wasn’t already.

Bellamy retrieved a small jar of antibiotic ointment, hoping that could stop any further infections. He carefully spread it on Murphy’s torn skin, trying his best not to damage him anymore.

Bellamy had lived on his own long enough to know how to stitch a wound, even when this one was deeper than he had before. He noticed Murphy was really trying to keep any sound of discomfort in, but sometimes a hiss or grunt escaped. Bellamy appreciated that he sat still for the most part. The stitch was done in a few minutes. Bellamy wrapped it up and moved on.

~

About an hour later, Bellamy had successfully cleaned and tended all of Murphy’s wounds, without too much ruckus. The boy was still wary around him and tensed up whenever Bellamy touched him, but that was to be expected. Murphy hadn’t told him anything about what happened, what got him in this state, but Bellamy could guess only one thing; Trikru. 

Nothing else could’ve made cuts that precisely. They looked like they were made to hurt, not kill. 

He knew how rough they could be with trespassers, it was one of the reasons why he left. Bellamy had seen the newcomers, sky people, and knew they would be wiped out pretty soon. Not that he expected it to be this bad; the boy in front of him seemed to be tortured, and not lightly.

Too deeply sunk in his thoughts, Bellamy did not notice himself staring at Murphy. He stared back at him with narrowed eyes. Bellamy shook his thoughts away and moved on. 

‘’You should rest,’’ He declared to Murphy. Murphy did not in fact take his advice, but leaned on his hands and looked at Bellamy with an expression he could not immediately decipher.

‘’Why am I here?’’ He suddenly asked with a hint of confusion in his normally flat voice. 

Bellamy blinked. ‘’Because I brought you here.’’ A dumb answer, he knew, but couldn’t bring himself to say anything else.

Murphy scoffed lightly at his response. ‘’I figured.’’

It didn’t seem like he was going to say anything else, so Bellamy spoke again: ‘’I found you and took you here.’’ Which was true, but there was a little bit more to it.

Again, Murphy didn’t reply.

‘’You know, you could be a bit more grateful considering I saved your life,’’ Bellamy half joked to defuse the tension. Nonetheless, it didn’t have the effect he hoped for. 

He got up from his crouched position in front of Murphy. Bellamy was going to tend to cooking more food, when Murphy yawned. He tried to cover it but Bellamy noticed.

‘’About that rest…’’ He began.

‘’Yeah, yeah,’’ Murphy muttered. 

Bellamy watched him lay down, the pain slowing the process.

Murphy let out a sigh when he was finally settled comfortably. Bellamy observed him for a few more moments and turned his back to Murphy when he closed his eyes. Soon, soft snoring filled up the warmly lit cave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi again !! sorry that this took so long to get out !! i was trying to fix 10 missing assignments and procrastinate writing this oopsie <3 anyways i was pretty scared for this chapter as i’m not sure if i can get charactizations right, so please let me know if this was something :D ah also you may noticed i changed up the pov midway, i hope you caught on with that and it was understandable. thank you for reading and till next time !! <3

**Author's Note:**

> hi again! thank you very much for reading the first chapter of this fic. i really hope you enjoyed it :) i’ll try to get out chapter 2 soon, but no guarantees as i’m busy with school and stuff (also writers block hits hard). leave a kudos and a comment if you want :) my twitter is @mcksonprince check that out to see me ramble about murphamy and mackson :)


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